Where Music Comes to Play

Skardin HT-250 PMP with DVB-T

At the Taitronics Autumn 2006 electronics trade show going on now at the Taipei World Trade Center in Taiwan, Skardin Industrial showed off its entrance into the PMP market with the HT-250. The company, whose main business is manufacturing satellite receivers, has equipped its upcoming device with a 2.4-inch TFT display, DVB-T receiver, AV out, and support for MPEG1/2, MPEG4, DivX, and XviD files.

Additional details are scarce, but we’re assuming that there’s some kind of music player and possibly a few extras accessible through the “menu” button above the speaker. The HT-250 features an SD/MMC expansion card slot that may or may not serve as the PMP’s only source of storage space. Since there’s no word on an internal hard drive, however, we’re thinking it may be the former.

Skardin is based in China, Taiwan, and the UK, which is likely where the HT-250 will make its first (and only?) retail appearance.

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SanDisk Sansa Clip+

The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.

Cowon J3

The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.

Microsoft Zune HD

Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.

Phonak Audéo PFE

Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.

Hippo VB

The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.

Soundmagic E10 / E30

The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.